The Orthodox Solution, Its History and Multiplicity

Abstract

AbstractThe orthodox solution to the measurement problem is often presented in terms of ‘consciousness causes collapse’. It is widely taken to have been developed and presented by the mathematician von Neumann in his classic book, Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (1932/1955) which lays down the core theoretical framework of quantum mechanics. However, the ‘problem’ was not even presented as such until the 1950s, which is when von Neumann’s book was finally translated into English, and there is barely any mention of consciousness in it. It is partly for this reason that London and Bauer are typically regarded as having clearly articulated what von Neumann only hinted at. This chapter examines what von Neumann actually wrote about measurement in quantum mechanics. It presents his ‘psychophysical parallelism’ and the famous ‘chain’ argument which concludes that something non-physical must induce the wave-function to collapse. The chapter concludes with brief comments on von Neumann’s later thoughts concerning the comparison between computers and the human brain.